352 THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO 



dead for more than a hundred years. One has the head 

 of a good antoh, showing big corner teeth and out-hang- 

 ing tongue, as he watches that no bad antohs come to 

 injure the dead man's soul. 



A woman carrying a betel box is believed to watch 

 well because when chewing betel one does not sleep; 

 but in her case there must always be a male kapatong 

 near by, for a woman alone is not sufficient protection. 

 Betel makes the mouth and lips beautiful in the estima- 

 tion of the natives, therefore many kapatongs are seen 

 with betel box in hand. 



A very extraordinary guardian of the dead is a lov- 

 ing pair, the man's arm placed affectionately over the 

 shoulder of his companion. Lovers do not sleep, hence 

 they are good at watching, reasons the Dayak. 



In these regions I gathered some information about 

 the huge serpent of which one hears occasionally in 

 Borneo, called sahua by the Malays, and which, according 

 to accounts, may attain a length of seven or eight metres. 

 It is able to remain long under water, moves slowly on 

 land, and can climb trees. Deer and pigs are its usual 

 food, but at times it attacks and eats natives. A few 

 years previously this python devoured a Katingan, and 

 as it remains at the same place for some time after a 

 meal, two days later it was found and killed. These 

 Dayaks kill it with knives, spears being ineffectual, and 

 the meat is eaten. A very large lizard is also said to be 

 a man-eater. 



Crocodiles are numerous here, and at low water have 

 been responsible for the disappearance of many Katin- 



