THE GREAT FEAST 229 



and I went over to see it. The livers of the pigs were 

 not in favourable condition, which caused much delay in 

 the proceedings, and it was nearly five o'clock when they 

 finally began to make a primitive dangei hut, all the ma- 

 terial for which had been gathered. A few slim upright 

 poles with human faces carved at the upper ends were 

 placed so as to form the outline of a quadrangle. On the 

 ground between them planks were laid, and on the two 

 long sides of this space were raised bamboo stalks with 

 leaves on, which leaned together and formed an airy 

 cover. It was profusely adorned with wood shavings 

 hung by the ends in long spirals, the whole arrangement 

 forming a much simpler house of worship than the one 

 described above. The kapala having sacrificed a tiny 

 chicken, a man performed a war dance on the planks in 

 superb fashion, and after that two female blians danced. 

 Next morning I returned and asked permission to photo- 

 graph the dancing. The kapala replied that if a photo- 

 graph were made while they were working — that is to say, 

 dancing — they would have to do all their work over again, 

 otherwise some misfortune would come upon them, such 

 as the falling of one of the bamboo stalks, which might 

 kill somebody. Later, while they were eating, for ex- 

 ample, there would be no objection to the accomplish- 

 ment of my desire. 



With the eighth day an increased degree of ceremonials 

 became noticeable, and in order to keep pace therewith I 

 was driven to continuous activity. On a muggy, warm 

 morning I began work by photographing the Raja Besar, 

 who had given me permission to take himself and his fam- 



