HOW THE PENGANUN WAS CAUGHT ALIVE 387 



it, but before they had finished the meal they became 

 crazy — fifteen of them. The affected ones, as well as 

 the bamboo in which the cooking had been done, turned 

 into stone, but the meat disappeared. Daring and his 

 wife, who had not partaken of the meal, escaped. 



Note. — There exists in Borneo a huge python, in Malay called sahua, 

 which is the basis for a superstitious belief in a monster serpent, called pen- 

 ganun, the forehead of which is provided with a straight horn of pure gold. 

 The tale is possibly influenced by Malay ideas. The Penyahbongs have a 

 name for gold, bo-an, but do not know how to utilise the metal. 



7. HOW THE PENGANUN WAS CAUGHT ALIVE 

 (From the Penyahbongs; kampong Tamaloe) 



Two young girls, not yet married, went to fish, each 

 carrying the small oblong basket which the Penyahbong 

 woman is wont to use when fishing, holding it in one 

 hand and passing it through the water. A very young 

 serpent, of the huge kind called penganun, entered a 

 basket and the child caught it and placed it on the bark 

 tray to take it home. 



Penganun ate all the fish on the tray, and the girls 

 kept it in the house, catching fish for it, and it remained 

 thus a long time. When it grew to be large it tried to 

 eat the two girls, and they ran away to their mother, 

 who was working on sago, while their father was sleep- 

 ing near by. Penganun was pursuing them, and he 

 caught the smaller one around the ankle, but the father 

 killed the monster with his sumpitan and its spear point. 

 With his parang he cut it in many pieces and his wife 

 cooked the meat in bamboo, and they all ate it. 



Note. — Penganun, see preceding tale. The sumpitan (blow-pipe) has a 

 spear point lashed to one end, and thus also may serve as a spear. 



