BRANAK, THE ANTOH 415 



was too great. She then ascended the tree, and, in full 

 view of the ship as it sailed away, she lifted the child 

 and tore it in twain. 



Note. — The Dayaks insist that this animal can swim, and my informant, 

 a trustworthy Kahayan, said he had seen it. The orang-utan spends most 

 of his time in the trees, seldom descending to the ground. That the one 

 in this case is assumed to follow the daily habit of the Dayak is in accordance 

 with the spirit of folk-lore. 



20. BRANAK, THE ANTOH 



(From the Ot-Danums, of the Upper Kahayan River) 



A man called Mai Boang (father of Boang) had a 

 very good-looking son who owned a fine big male dog, 

 and when the child grew to be old enough he used the 

 animal for hunting. One day when the dog was follow- 

 ing the tracks of a deer he came into a long, long cave 

 and Boang followed. To pass through the cave consumed 

 thrice the time required to cook rice. Emerging on the 

 other side the dog and the boy arrived at a house where 

 there was a handsome woman. As darkness was falling 

 he asked if he might stay over night, and she gave per- 

 mission, the dog remaining under the house. Each was 

 attracted by the other, so they passed the night together. 

 Boang remained there, and in time she bore him a son. 

 She possessed a female dog, and the two dogs had two 

 male and two female pups. 



Two or three years later Boang wanted to see his 

 father and mother. She said: "I will go with you for 

 a short time/' With wife and child he went away, but 

 he soon had to return because she did not like his country, 

 of which the language and everything else was different. 



