NAVIGATION. 



197 



Fig. 126. People of Lake Sentàni on tlieir Isja. 



conveyed across in the same. A speed of 6 nautical miles (10 — 11 K. M.) is very common; 

 the weight of the craft hardly enters into considération, whilst the shape and the smoothness 

 of the surface below the 

 waterline reduce the résist- 

 ance to a minimum. When 

 not used, the Isja is al- 

 ways hauled up on dry 

 land, but so that the bow is 

 turned towards the water, 

 and therefore ready for 

 immédiate use. In the after- 

 noon, when the men had 

 ail returned to the village, 

 the beach at Asé was al- 

 most lined with 'isja, as 

 can be seen in fig. 128. 

 Then the water is bailed 

 out, but in each Isja there 

 is a paddle kept like 

 N°. 669, about 1.5 m. in 



length, of which almost half is formed by the uncarved blade, which is in shape a pointed ellipse. 

 If an Isja has become useless for some reason or other, it is at once eut transversely through 

 the middle; the planks are after- 

 wards used for flooring or partitions. 

 Besides thèse very simple paddles, 

 others are found on Lake Sentâni, of 

 which the blade on both sides is enti- 

 rely covered with a carved fish orna- 

 ment (N os . 670—672, PI. XXII, figs. 1 

 and 2). Amongst many dozens of 

 paddles which I saw lying in several 

 Isja, I only once found an ornament- 

 ed one; besides, prnamented paddles 

 were generally offered for sale by 

 women, whilst in fig. 125, with a 

 magnifying glass the ornament on 

 the women's paddles may be recogni- 

 sed. And although thèse ornamented 

 paddles are manufactured by the 

 men, they are used by the women. 

 Moreover, PREUSS [1899, 174, PI. V, fig. 27] also describes the same paddles as women's 

 paddles; (his indication of origin, viz. "Humboldt Bay", is however incorrect). The men's paddle 

 is therefore not ornamented, but the women's is. I emphasize this unusual fact, which pleads for 



Fig. 127. Manner of sitting on an isja\ Asé. 



