AMONG THE SAPUTANS 199 



mony, but having secured the girl's consent and paid her 

 father and mother the young man simply goes to her 

 mat. They then remain two days in the house, because 

 they are afraid of the omen birds. On the third day both 

 go to fetch water from the river and she begins to husk 

 rice. Monogamy is practised, only the chief being al- 

 lowed to have five or more wives. The very enter- 

 prising kapala of Data Laong, to the displeasure of his 

 first wife, recently had acquired a second, the daughter 

 of a Penihing chief. While the payment of a parang may 

 be sufficient to secure a wife from among the kampong 

 people, a chief's daughter is worth ten gongs, and in order 

 to raise the money necessary to obtain the gongs he set 

 all the men of the kampong to work, gathering rattan, for 

 one month. Though each of them received something 

 for his labour, it was less than one-fourth of the amount 

 accruing from the sale of the product, leaving him suf- 

 ficient to pay the price demanded for the new bride. In 

 Long Iram a gong may be bought for f. 30-80, and for 

 purposes of comparison the fact is mentioned that a 

 Malay usually is required to pay f. 60 to the girl's father 

 to insure his consent to the marriage. 



April was rainy, with frequent showers day and night, 

 and thunder was heard every evening. Life there was the 

 same as in most Dayak kampongs, nearly all the people 

 being absent during the day at the ladangs, and in the 

 evening they bring home the roots of the calladium, or 

 other edible roots and plants, which are cooked for food. 

 The paddi had been harvested, but the crop was poor, 

 and therefore they had made no feast. There is no danc- 



