372 THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO 



and you have; you look like the children of a dog." 

 Their father replied: "In truth I am a dog," and imme- 

 diately he resumed his natural form, ran away, and after 

 an interval arrived in the Upper Kahayan, where his 

 owner welcomed him, and the dog lived to old age and 

 died. 



In due time the two children married and had large 

 families, all of whom had tails, but since the Malays 

 came and married Sembulo women the tails have be- 

 come shorter and shorter. At present most of the peo- 

 ple have none, and those that remain are not often seen 

 because clothes are now worn; however, many travellers 

 to Sembulo have beheld them. 



The rendering from Rongkal is similar, with this dif- 

 ference: The man from Upper Kahayan followed his 

 dog — which at sight of his master resumed canine form — 

 and killed it. According to a Malay version, a raja of 

 Bandjermasin was much disliked and the people made 

 him leave the country. He took a female dog with him 

 in the prahu and went to Sembulo, where he had children 

 all of whom had tails. 



