276 SPECULATION AS TO THE 



them, this necessarily cannot be long before it occurs. 

 A seat is made at the approach to every village, at 

 which all persons leaving their houses wait the wished- 

 for signal, which shall announce a happy termination to 

 the labours of the day, or other business on which they 

 may be departing. 



I have not observed amongst the Dyaks of Sarawak, 

 that they hold in superstitious dread any species of 

 birds, though such may be the case in some parts 

 of the country, as it is mentioned by one or two 

 writers, though by none from personal observation. 1 

 have shot all kinds of birds in their presence, and they 

 never showed the least wish to prevent me, but were 

 always amused at seeing them fall, and ready to eat such 

 as I did not want for the purpose of preserving their 

 skins. 



From the foregoing very imperfect account of the 

 customs of these people, connected with a religious pro- 

 fession, it will be seen that several of the customs and 

 observances of the Hindus have been grafted on the 

 original and more ancient superstitions general among 

 the inhabitants of Polynesia. All writers on the East 

 have uniformly declared that, with the exception of the 

 Papuas, or black race, inhabiting some of the more eastern 

 of the islands, all the various tribes of the Archipelago 

 have originated from one people, which Mr. Crawfurd 

 considers a distinct race, and peculiar to those islands. 

 I am not capable of giving an opinion on a matter so 

 weighty ; but certainly think with the high authority 

 above quoted, that they are not of the Tartar race, as 



