HABITATIONS AND FURNITURE. 



139 



trouble and the time required for collecting the materials and the building of houses on 

 terra firma at Tumleo, the pile-dwellings in the water demand considerably more material 

 and labour, because ail the piles must be so much longer and their number so much larger. 

 The diving work is done by the women; they appear to remove the stones from the bottom 

 and with their hands make a hollow place, in order, afterwards, whilst the raen pull up, 

 pumâte, (fig. 91) the piles vertically with pièces of rattan tied round, to direct the lower part 

 to its exact position. The wood of ail thèse piles, must be of very good quality, as it must 

 stand the influence of air, water and insects. Often a brown, heavy, hard kind of wood is 

 used for this purpose, which, at Asé was called tsoâm or soàme of which the there customary 

 black pig's lances are also made. Participating in the work, I myself was able to expérience 

 how exceedingly heavy this kind of wood was. First of ail a certain number of pôles, su, are 

 placed into position, which must ail, at the height where the floor is to corne, as far as they 

 do not hâve hère a natural bifurcation, be eut off and notched to carry a first layer of floor 

 beams, ô. When thèse are laid down and a whole grating of thinner stems is tied on trans- 

 versely, the érection of a row of heavy, very long centre pôles, kitchu, gugu, ail ending at 

 the top in a fork (figs. 91 and 158) follows, which must support the ridge pôle and two 

 rows of shorter on es, finau, also forked, which will hâve to carry the sideways placed, longi- 

 tudinal roof beams. Ail thèse vertical pôles are erected without any connection with the 

 flooring. Thus far the building of fig. 91 was advanced ; ail the persons assisting in this work 



Fig. 91. The building of pile-dwellings in Lake Sentâni; Asé. 



were for this day fed by the proprietor; no other payment existed for them. But the work 

 connected with such a building is so extensive and lasts such a long time, that already 

 years before the construction begins, the gardens must be enlarged in order to feed the 

 assistants. Where a new r building is intended to take the place of an old family résidence, 



