i68 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap. 



War is only undertaken after formal consultation 

 and many discussions between the chief or chiefs 

 and all the leading men. If the village primarily 

 concerned does not feel itself strong enough to 

 achieve its ends, it will seek the help of some 

 neighbouring village, usually, but not always one 

 of its own tribe. The discussion may be renewed 

 day after day for some little time, before the 

 decision to fight is taken and the time for the 

 expedition is fixed. 



The next step is to seek favourable omens, and 

 two men are told ofif for this work. They repair 

 to some spot in the jungle, or more commonly on 

 the bank of the river, where they build a small 

 hut ; they adorn it by fraying the poles of its frame- 

 work, and so secure themselves against interruptions 

 by passing acquaintances. The sight or sound of 

 certain birds and beasts is favourable, of others 

 unfavourable ; but the favourable creatures must 

 be observed in a certain order, if the omens are 

 to be entirely satisfactory. If very bad omens are 

 observed, the men return home to report the fact, 

 and will make another attempt after a few days. 

 If the omens are of mixed character, they will 

 persist for some time, hoping to get a sufficient 

 number of good omens to counteract or nullify the 

 bad. When seeking for their place of observation, 

 their choice is determined by seeing a spider- 

 hunter {^Arac knot herd) fiying across the river, chirp- 

 ing as it flies. When this is seen they stop the 

 boat, calling out to the bird, "■ O friend Isit, protect 

 us and give us success." One of the men lands on 

 the bank, hews out a pole about eight feet long, 

 cuts upon it bunches of shavings without detaching 

 (PI. 97) them from the pole, and thrusts one end 

 of it into the ground so that it remains sloping 

 towards the abode of the foe. While this is being 

 done on the bank, fire of some sort (if only a 



