CH. XIII USEFUL PLANTS IN MINABASSA 333 



unpleasant task, especially when a bolus is handed round 

 a large assembly of native chiefs before it reaches him ; but 

 the accomplishment will often prove of great use. 



In places where all the ingredients can be easily procured 

 the bolus is composed of sirih leaves ; the leaves of some 

 species of the genus Chavica belonging to the order 

 Piperacese, the pinang-nut, gambir, obtained from the 

 Uncaria gambir, belonging to the order EubiaceBB, chalk, 

 usually obtained by burning coral, and some tobacco. 



To make a bolus in the most approved fashion the 

 Malay first takes a sirih leaf and spreads upon it some 

 powdered chalk; he then places on it a small piece of 

 gambir and a piece of betel-nut. He next folds the sirih 

 leaf twice over the other ingredients and places it in his 

 mouth, and when it has become sodden and partially masti- 

 cated he adds a small bolus of tobacco (23A). 



The Corypha umbraculifera is another palm which 

 provides the Alfur with many usefal products. It is a tall 

 handsome tree, the terminal crown composed of large fan- 

 shaped leaves supported by long thick leaf-stalks. Some of 

 the leaves are over six feet long in the mid-rib. 



The leaves of the Corypha are very extensively used for 

 making baskets, cigar-cases, trays, mats, hats, and other 

 woven articles. When dry they are of a light yellow 

 colour. They are soaked in water to make them pliable, 

 and then boiled with colouring matter according to fancy. 

 A very beautiful yellow enamelled appearance may be pro- 

 duced by a subsequent process of boiling, the exact details 

 of which I was unable to learn. 



In weaving together the different coloured strips various 

 patterns are formed, but they are mostly angular and 

 uninteresting. In the Langowan district, where mat- 

 making has become a speciality, a few curious conventional 

 designs of birds (fig. 34) and human figures are woven 



