14 H niton Webster 



his or her particular rice-field. All eyes eagerly watch the actions 

 of the hawk. " Should he sail away out of sight without once 

 flapping his wings all are delighted ; it means that the clearing 

 of the jungle may now continue prosperously, and that neither 

 attack of enemies nor accident to the workers need be feared. 

 Should the hawk flap his wings, it follows that some men, in fell- 

 ing the jungle, will be badly cut by their axes or perhaps crushed 

 under falling trees. All instantly avert their eyes from the flap- 

 ping hawk, lest the bird should recognize them in the fields and 

 select them as victims. "^'^ 



There now occurs a brief respite from the permantong or lali, 

 and the people may leave their houses. But the same formali- 

 ties must be observed by the inhabitants whilst search is made 

 for four other ominous animals. In each case there is a three- 

 day period of seclusion and abstinence. These are all the omens 

 that must be consulted before the heavy timber can be felled, the 

 ground burned over, and the rice planted. 



The foregoing illustrations have exhibited the elaborate series 

 of taboos which afifect the inmates of a communal house or 

 village, before the crop is started. Other regulations concern 

 outsiders. From the hour when the real labor of felling the 

 jungle begins, until the seed-planting is completed, no stranger 

 may enter the house or field. Should a neighbor, by accident or 

 necessity, come within the lali district he must atone for the 

 trespass by making a small payment. This is called the iisut and 

 consists, ordinarily, of a few beads or an iron implement. It is 

 placed in a basket and hung up in the rice-field till it rusts away 

 or disappears. The women have as their special duty to see that 

 the usut is paid. 



But the lali ordinances of the Kayans are not confined to the 

 time of seed-planting. Once more, when the crop is all har- 

 vested, the house is closed to strangers. For eight days no one 

 may go away on an expedition or return to the village from 

 abroad. Another season of restriction follows during the period 

 when the rice is being stored in the granaries. " But as soon as 



'" Furncss, op. cit., 162 sq. 



14 



