336 KYAN MODE OF 



erected for the purpose, of carved hard wood, on posts 

 of some height above the ground ; or occasionally, as 

 I have been informed, in hollowed trunks of trees. 



Notwithstanding the barbarity they display on these 

 occasions, and the bloody and ferocious tastes which 

 lead to their wars, they are not, as they have been 

 hastily stigmatised, cannibals ; nor does any race, which, 

 like the Battas of Sumatra, practise the horrid custom 

 of feeding on the bodies of their own species, exist on 

 the island. To turn to the brighter side of their 

 character; they are said to be in the highest degree 

 hospitable, and confiding in the honour of strangers 

 who may have intercourse with them : they are like the 

 Hill Dyaks, of the most scrupulous integrity, so that the 

 Malayan trader never fears to leave his cargo in their 

 hands, being sure that the full amount for which he has 

 sold it will be forthcoming at the time stipulated. 



On reaching the Kyan village from the sea, the 

 Malay trader first makes known his arrival to the chief, 

 who appoints him a house to reside in. During his 

 stay he is at liberty to help himself to anything he may 

 see which is outside the doors of the houses : such 

 as, fowls, fruit, &c. ; but to take anything from the 

 inside would be considered a robbery. The Kyan 

 expects, on going to other villages, the same privileges ; 

 so that when they visit Serekei, which they never do in 

 small numbers, but only in large fleets, attending their 

 Rajahs, the inhabitants are glad to see them gone again, 

 as their helping themselves is troublesome. They go 

 to the trading-boats in the river, and take cocoa-nuts, 



