284 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO 



and walked up to the village leaving the women to 

 shoulder the heavy loads. As the ground all round 

 the bungalow was much overgrown with grass, I had 

 a contingent of Dayaks over from the other side to 

 clear it. 



25/7*. Visited the Tabekang village ; it consists of three 

 houses of 17, 18, and 20 rooms respectively. In each 

 house there is an outer verandah open to the sky, an 

 inner verandah ("ruai" of the Sea- Dayaks) and rooms 

 opening off from this. The inner verandah is not 

 used much as a general sitting place as in Sea-Dayak 

 houses, but the people sit more in the rooms, which 

 are of very fair size. Attached to each house and 

 opposite to it is the " Bala," x or Head-House, a small 

 one-roomed building raised high on piles, and con- 

 nected with the outer verandah by a primitive stair- 

 case composed of one notched log, with or without a 

 hand-rail. The skulls, all very ancient, are slung 

 from a beam across the room, and a fire is generally 

 kept burning beneath them. The young unmarried 

 men of the village sleep in the Head-House, and it 

 is also used as a club-house in which the elders 

 discuss affairs. At the time of head-feasts only old 

 men are allowed to enter the " Bala." The Tabekang 

 Dayaks are a mannerless lot and unusually inhospit- 

 able ; they strongly objected to being photographed, 

 but I was able to take the head-measurements of a few. 



26th. At midday started for the neighbouring village 

 of Lanchang ; it was a terribly long walk through 



1 Bala, with Balul, and Baluh, which occur several times in 

 this chapter, are different pronunciations of the word Balai and 

 Bali, meaning sacred. Full account of the use of this word is 

 given in The Pagan Tribes o f Borneo, London, 1912. C. H 



