AMONG THE DUHOI 329 



swinging himself gracefully in a circle. Another man was 

 almost his equal, and these two danced well around the 

 babi which was lying at the foot of two thin upright 

 bamboo poles; to the top of one of these a striped cloth 

 had been tied. 



This meeting was followed by friendly dealings with 

 the Dayaks of the kampongs above, who began to visit 

 me. Silent and unobtrusive, they often seated themselves 

 before my tent, closely observing my movements, espe- 

 cially at meal time, eager to get the tin that soon would 

 be empty. A disagreeable feature, however, was that the 

 natives often brought mosquitoes with them, and when 

 they began to slap themselves on arms and legs their 

 absence would have been more acceptable than their com- 

 pany. But each day they offered for sale objects of great 

 interest and variety. Several beautifully engraved wah- 

 wah (long armed monkey) bones, serving as handles for 

 women's knives, are worthy of mention, one of which 

 might be termed exquisite in delicate execution of design. 

 Admirable mats were made by the tribe, but the designs 

 proved perplexing to interpret, as knowledge on the sub- 

 ject seems to be lost. The difficulty about an interpreter 

 was solved when the "onder's" clerk returned from a 

 brief absence; he was an intelligent and trustworthy 

 Kayan who spoke Malay well, had been a Christian for 

 six years, but adopted Islam when he married a Bakom- 

 pai wife. Compared with the retiring "onder," who, 

 though a very good man, seemed to feel the limitations 

 of his position, this Kahayan appeared more like a man 

 of the world. 



