454 TWO YEAKS IN THE JUIS^GLE, 



operation in his pursuits on tlie farm, if she leaves him he does not 

 allow her absence to disturb his serenity. The loss of his children 

 affects him much more, for they are his hope and tnist. 



To the other virtues of the Dyak must be added that of strict 

 honesty and profound respect for the rights of property. Whether 

 they steal from each other I cannot say ; I suppose they do some- 

 times, although it must be very seldom. It is positively asserted, 

 however, that they never pilfer from Europeans, nor even Malays 

 and Chinese, from whom they would have a right to take something 

 in remembrance of past oppression and extortion in the one case, 

 and sharp practice with false weights and measures in the other. 



Strangely enough, some of the Hill Dyaks bm-n their dead, 

 a custom which they have clearly adopted from the Hindoos who 

 flourished in Western Borneo several centuries ago. I believe all 

 the people of this tribe in Sarawak Territory practise cremation ex- 

 cepting those who live on the Sadong. The Sadong Kiver Dyaks 

 bury their dead, and bury with them various articles belonging to 

 the deceased, especially his betel box with fresh sirih leaves (black 

 pepper), some old clothes of no value, and perhaps his spear. His 

 land is then divided equally among his children, without disci'im- 

 ination for or against either sex. 



The Hill Dyaks have no written language, and no social laws 

 save the customs and traditions which have been handed down 

 from their ancestors ; and it must be admitted that these are sur- 

 prisingly well adapted to their condition and necessities. Chief- 

 tainships are hereditary, but their chiefs rule only by the consent 

 of the governed and without the power to oppress. 



The Hill Dyaks have dim ideas regarding a future state and 

 a Supreme Spirit named Tupa or Jowata, both Hindoo names. 

 They believe the good Dyaks go to a place under the earth, 

 called Sabyan, where they are happy, and that the bad go to an- 

 other place, also called Sabyan, where they are not happy. A few 

 believe that sometimes their ancestors take the form of deer after 

 death, for which reason, like the Hindoos from whom the idea was 

 probably derived, they will neither kill deer nor eat of their flesh. 



Some believe that certain of their warriors become " wood- 

 spirits," or wood-devils (antus), after death, and remain on earth to 

 plague such of their survivors as have offended or injured them. 

 They have no religious ceremonies or observances whatever, nor 

 any conception of a God who controls the destinies of men for 

 good or ill. In these people we see morality divorced fi'om any 



