KENYAHS AND KAYANS Tj 



band to which the lobe has been stretched. The men 

 may also wear rings, though they remove them when 

 going into the utan or to the ladang, and, although in this 

 regard the males make less display than the females, in 

 the wearing of valuable necklaces they excel them. 



Necklaces of beads are worn by men, women, and 

 children. When money is obtained by selling rubber to 

 the Chinese, or by taking part in an expedition to New 

 Guinea, there is much display of such ornaments, many 

 of which are manufactured in Europe. But the Dayaks 

 are extremely particular about the kind they buy; there- 

 fore it is useless to take beads out to Borneo without 

 knowing the prevalent fashion. On the Kayan River a 

 favoured style of bead is tubular in form, light yellow in 

 hue, and procured from Bugis traders who are said to 

 obtain their stock in New Guinea. Others of similar 

 shape, but brown in colour, come from Sumatra. 



When children are small they are carried on the backs 

 of their mothers in a kind of cradle, the outside of which 

 is often elaborately adorned with beads. The chief in 

 Long Pelaban had one, the value of which I computed to 

 be two thousand florins. The choicest beads are very 

 old and have been kept for centuries in Borneo. Some are 

 thought to be of Venetian origin, while others resemble a 

 Roman variety. It is very difficult to induce the Dayaks 

 to sell any of these, which they guard as precious heir- 

 looms and the value of which they fully realize. Accord- 

 ing to Hose and McDougall, the wife of a rich chief in 

 Sarawak may possess old beads to the value of thousands 

 of pounds. 



