196 LAXITY OF MANNERS. 



Though virtue before marriage is thus little respected, 

 faithlessness after the marriage feast has taken place 

 is a grave and serious offence in which the whole 

 village is concerned. I believe it is punished by fine, 

 but the offence is of such rare occurrence that no person 

 to my knowledge ever incurred the penalty. The 

 license granted to the young women appears amongst 

 these people only to extend to their own nation, but 

 it is probable, and in fact certain, in some tribes, that 

 their favours are liberally extended to the Malays, 

 should any happen to reside in their vicinity. This 

 laxity of manners has been carried so far, that I have 

 been assured that should a chief, or distinguished 

 warrior of another tribe, travelling through the country, 

 rest for a night at a village, it is a necessary part of 

 their hospitality to provide a girl for his companion ; 

 but my information on this particular is derived from 

 the Malays. I, however, think it correct, as a similar 

 custom is always followed by the Kyans. 



The promiscuous intercourse between the unmar- 

 ried of the two sexes above described is a curious 

 institution, and not known to the hill tribes. From 

 the father of a child being compelled to marry its 

 mother, and from their never being known to have 

 any reluctance to do so, it would appear to have been 

 originally practised as a precautionary measure arising 

 from then' fear of not becoming the fathers of families, 

 which the Dyak would consider the greatest possible 

 misfortune, though, from the facility with which they 



