xin] THE IKAN DUNGAN 



The Dyaks of this region, although they live so far from the sea, 

 are comparatively civilised. Their language differs but slightly 

 from that of the Batang Lupar Dyaks. They work iron, but do 

 not extract it, buying it from Malay merchants at Silimpo, on the 

 Kapuas. Their houses are well constructed, and everything about 

 them denotes a condition of comfort and prosperity. Although 

 living on Dutch territory, they consider themselves independent. 

 Their nearest market is at Simanggan. whither they resort to pur- 

 chase salt. They treated me coldly, and it was only by showing 

 a certain amount of firmness and energy that I was able to 

 obtain paddles. They refused to sell me fowls, although I saw 

 many about the houses. Notwithstanding this hostile attitude 

 Intika, the Orang Tua, readily consented to act as my guide to 

 the lakes. 



At the village of Loben, where we halted, I met some Malo 

 Dyaks, who live on the Kapuas, and were engaged in working finger- 

 rings, earrings, and other brass ornaments, much prized by the 

 women here. For a small consideration these Malo people allowed 

 me the use of their canoe, but this was not big enough to contain 

 all my men, and I had considerable difficulty in obtaining another 

 small one, the Dyaks being afraid that I would not pay the sum 

 agreed upon — one rupee ! 



An hour after noon we embarked in the two canoes, and began 

 to descend the stream. The banks of this portion of the Kantu 

 resemble those of the western branch of the Sarawak river, both in 

 the look of the country and in the nature of the vegetation. As we 

 paddled along aided by the rapid current, a fine " ikan dungan " 

 hooked itself on our trailing line — the " atja " of the Dyaks. 

 This has neither plummet nor float, and the bait is a piece of pearl 

 shell a couple of inches long, or a bit of white metal, to which are 

 attached one or two fish-hooks. The shell or metal is shaped some- 

 what like a small fish, and this and its silvery sheen makes it a killing 

 bait for big fish. The " atja" is thrown from the bows of the boat 

 continuously, now on one side, now on the other. I was informed 

 that the dungan cannot be caught . in any other way. It is an 

 excellent fish so far as flavour is concerned, as I can myself testify, 

 but I should have preferred preserving it as a zoological specimen, 

 for it looked strange and interesting. It has a heterocercal tail, 

 like that of the sturgeon, which I saw in no other Bornean fish. I 

 was told that it is also to be found in the Sarawak river, but is very 

 rare there. 



After a couple of hours of easy and rapid progress we reached 

 Grogo, where I hoped to get another boat to continue the journey. 

 After Grogo, one of the usual Dyak house-villages, the river banks 

 are uninhabited for a long stretch, and as the boats we had were 

 mere canoes, by no means well suited to pass the night in, and the 



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