THE ABOKIGINES OF BOEXEO. 453 



Tlie customs of the Dyaks absolutely prohibit consanguineous 

 marriages, even the marriage of cousins constituting a rank of- 

 fence, for which the offenders are hea^'ily fined, and socially dis- 

 graced as well. Marriages could be contracted in this countiy or 

 in Europe with honor and idat which would not be permitted for 

 a moment among the aborigines of Borneo in their native jungle. 

 I have already alluded to the custom of banishing the unmariied 

 men and boys of the village to the pangah for the protection of the 

 famihes. 



And yet the marriage ceremony is devoid of any solemn vows 

 and ^protestations, certainly destitute of even a spark of religious 

 sentiment, and so simple and absurd as to seem little more than 

 child's play. Indeed, it is so little thought of that it might almost 

 be said a couj)le may go thi-ough with almost any ceremony they 

 please so long as theu- intention is made public. In some tillages 

 a fowl is shaken a certain number of times over the heads of the 

 pair to be wed ; in others the bride and gi-oom each take a fowl, 

 jjass it in front of them seven times, then cut the throats of both, 

 cook them and eat them. Sometimes a marriage is celebrated by 

 an exchange of bracelets in public ; and again hj the contracting 

 parties eating a meal of rice, honey and salt together. Like honest 

 people, it is the intention of the other that each participant in a 

 marriage relies upon ; and the ceremony merely serves to mark 

 pubUcly the beginning of their* marital relation. 



Marriage usually takes place when a girl reaches the age of six- 

 teen, and she is always allowed to engineer her own matrimonial 

 schemes, and choose her partner without let or hindrance. Di- 

 vorce is not uncommon, but scandal, lying, and wholesale vituper- 

 ation are not resorted to to accomplish it. If a pau' does not 

 live happily together, by reason of laziness on the pai't of one, 

 or bad temper on the part of the other, the dissatisfied party 

 leaves the othei', and, after a fine is paid over by the dissatis- 

 fied party to the original offender, both are free and at liberty to 

 mari-y again. Separations to which both are opposed sometimes 

 take jDlace soon after the marriage, in obedience to certain recog- 

 nized signs, such as the barking of a deer, which foretells the death 

 of one of the parties if they do not separate. In all his social re- 

 lations the Dyak is a philosopher, free from gnawing jealousy and 

 yearning for seclusive and perpetual possession. If one wife leaves 

 him he girds up his loins Hterally and coolly seeks another and a 

 better one. Although he greatly enjoys his wife's society and co- 



