176 THE MANANG, OR VILLAGE DOCTOR. 



that of a woman, wearing no chawat, or waistcloth, 

 as the men, but the bedang, or short dress of the 

 other sex, hereafter to be described, together with the 

 appropriate ornaments. Not satisfied with the assump- 

 tion of the dress of the women, the manang, the more 

 to resemble them, takes unto himself a husband, who 

 is generally a widower having a family, and who, in 

 expectation of inheriting the manang' s property, is 

 glad to comply with his caprices : he is treated in 

 every respect as a woman, and does not go to war 

 with the men ; he sees little of his husband, and the 

 fact of calling a person by this name appears only to 

 be necessary to render his assumed character more 

 complete. I could never learn any thing of the history 

 of this curious institution from the Dyaks themselves, 

 they declaring they knew nothing of it, and merely 

 saying that it was an old custom, and laughed with us 

 at its absurdity : perhaps it originated in persons of 

 natural imbecility, being compelled by the tribe to 

 assume the garb and habits of women, and thus have 

 become through time a custom followed by men who 

 were apparently in every respect fitted for the ordinary 

 intercourse of society. I do not know whether they 

 are brought up to this profession, but I rather think 

 that they enter it after having attained a considerable 

 age. I never saw any one who had a wife or children 

 of his own, though they might have perhaps been 

 married while young ; they are permitted to adopt the 

 children of other people, and this they frequently do. 



