ix] THE NAME " MATTANG " 



and fruits of this tree, which I believed to be as yet unknown to 

 botanists, had hitherto been unsatisfied, but one morning I was 

 delighted to find on the ground beneath it a few small branches 

 bearing flowers, which had been broken off by a violent gust of wind 

 during the night. The flowers were very small and greenish. 



I have named this extraordinary species, which belongs to the 

 Leguminosse, Abauria excelsa, dedicating the new genus to my 

 friend and fellow-traveller, the Marquis Giacomo Doria. 1 I shall 

 have an opportunity further on in my narrative of again mentioning 

 this tree, which is probably the largest and most majestic in Borneo, 

 and, indeed, must take rank among the giant trees of the world 

 (Fig. 24). I may here mention that the term " tapang " is often 

 applied to any tree of exceptional dimensions, usually selected by 

 bees for their nests. But the tapang par excellence, which is 

 noted also for its splendid and valuable timber, is the Abauria. 



From " Vallombrosa " I used to make excursions in all directions, 

 but for miles and miles around I found nothing but the unbroken 

 primeval forest, with the insignificant exception of small clearings 

 made by Chinese at the foot of the mountain. 



My nearest village was Singhi, about the same distance from the 

 house as Kuching. Leading towards the former was a sort of path- 

 way made by wild pigs, to catch which the Singhi Dyaks used to 

 lay the traps already described, which they call " petti " ; but these 

 had been providentially removed by order of the Tuan Muda when 

 I went to live on the Mattang. 



Why the slopes of the mountain should have remained unin- 

 habited was a puzzle to me. When I was there, there was not a 

 single hut on it. It may be that the attempts at cultivation were 

 unsuccessful, and were therefore abandoned. The whole mountain 

 appears to be formed of sandstone of very coarse grain, over which is 

 a goodly layer of vegetable earth, which, even had it not been origin- 

 ally of the best quality, could not fail to become so through the vast 

 accumulation of vegetable detritus in the forest. But, from what I 

 can judge, the Singhi Dyaks do not like to fell the primeval forest, 

 which gives them so many valuable products. It may be also that 

 they find it too much trouble to fell the big trees, and prefer to make 

 their clearings in the forest of secondary growth, where the trees 

 are smaUer and mostly soft-wooded. 



The word " Mattang " means a sacred place, the abode of spirits ; 

 and it is not improbable that the name of the mountain explains 

 why its primeval forest has remained untouched to this day. If 



1 Cf. Malesia, vol. i. p. 169. Firenze, 1877. " Abauria " is the ancient 

 mode of spelling the name of the Doria family. Recently Abauria has been 

 replaced by Taubert in the genus Koompassia, from which, however, it is 

 most distinct ; amongst other differences the fruit of A bauria does not appear 

 to be winged. 



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