i82 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap. 



use his opponent's skin as a war-coat, or his scrotum 

 as a tobacco-pouch, to take his head and to use his 

 hair as an ornament for a parang'-hs.ndlQ ; or doubt 

 as to the opponent's sex may be insinuated. While 

 this exchange of compliments goes on, the warriors 

 are manoeuvring for favourable positions ; each 

 crouches, thrusting forward his left leg, covering 

 himself as completely as possible with his long 

 shield, and dodging to and fro continually. The 

 short javelins and spears are first hurled, and skil- 

 fully parried with spear and shield. When a man 

 has expended his stock of javelins and has hurled 

 his spear, he closes in with his parang: His enemy 

 seeks to receive the blow of thQ parang- on his shield 

 in such a way that the point, entering the wood, 

 may be held fast by it. Feinting and dodging are 

 practised ; one man thrusts out his left leg to tempt 

 the other to strike at it and to expose his head in 

 doing so. If one succeeds in catching his enemy's 

 parang in his shield, he throws down the shield and 

 dashes upon his now weaponless foe, who takes to 

 his heels, throwing away his shield and relying 

 merely on his swiftness of foot. When one of a 

 pair of combatants is struck down, the other springs 

 upon him and, seizing the long hair of the scalp 

 and yelling in triumph, severs the neck with one or 

 two blows of the parang. The warrior who has 

 drawn first blood of the slain foe claims the credit 

 of having taken his head. Such a free fight seldom 

 lasts more than a few minutes. Unless one party 

 quite overwhelms the other in the first few minutes, 

 both draw off, and the fight is seldom renewed. 



Since the establishment of the European govern- 

 ments in Borneo, punitive expeditions have been 

 necessary from time to time in order to put a stop 

 to wanton raiding and killing. In this respect 

 the Ibans and some of the Klemantans have been 

 the chief offenders ; while the Kayans and Kenyahs 



