Rest Days; A Sociological Study i 5 



this harvesting is over, a general feast is prepared, and merri- 

 ment of all sorts makes up for the weariness of the long day's 

 work. The women don every stitch of their finery and every 

 bead to their name ; some even assume men's clothes, and carry 

 shield, spear, and parang. In the evening, all join in a long 

 procession round the house ; guests are invited to participate in 

 the festivities, and 'jest and youthful jollity' rule the hour; the 

 brimming cup passes freely, and to the harmonious strains of the 

 kahiri the women 'trip it as they go' or leap in war-dances in 

 imitation of the men."^^ 



The lali observances of the Kayans and other Dayaks are 

 significant as showing how for a Borneo community the whole 

 period of farming, from the initial task of selecting a site to the 

 final storing of the rice in the granaries, is subject to supernatural 

 influence. Planting and harvesting in particular, are critical 

 times when every precaution must be taken to secure the ap- 

 proval, to thwart the ill-will, of the spirits which invest the tribal 

 life. All the taboos are restrictive in character: the inhabitants 

 " remain in their houses to eat, drink, and sleep, but their eating 

 must be moderate and often the meal consists of nothing but rice 

 and salt. . . . The people under the interdict must not bathe, 

 touch fire, or busy themselves with their ordinary occupations. "^- 



In the course of an excellent study of the Borneo festivals,^^ 

 ]\Irs. Scott concludes that they are far more effective when 

 accompanied by the various taboos. The change of occupations 

 heightens the sacredness of the feast and also gives leisure to 

 the inhabitants of the village to join in the long elaborate ritual. 



^^ Idem, 164 sq. 



'" Spenser St. John, Life in the Forests of the Far East, i. i/S sq. 

 Mr. Hose declares that at such times the inhabitants of a communal house 

 may taboo their private rooms to the other inmates. Small fines are im- 

 posed for infringing the taboos, if the act be unintentional, but when a 

 man forces his way into a tabooed house, a serious quarrel, ending in 

 bloodshed may result {Journal of the Anthropological Institute, 1893, 

 xxi. 170). 



"(Mrs.) S. B. Scott, "Harvest Festivals of the Land Dyaks," Journal 

 of the American Oriental Society, 1908, xxix. 236-80. 



15 



