THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



115 



grasped the head of the chicken, and be- 

 tween them they instantly pulled the neck 

 in two. 



As an ethnic curiosity, it would be in- 

 teresting to inquire whether there is any 

 relation between this custom and that 

 which is practiced at dinner parties in 

 polite society, where bonbons are pulled 

 in two and the contents eagerly examined. 



GOOD OM^NS READ IN PIGS' LIVERS 



At noon the most important event of 

 the feast day takes place — pigs are killed 

 and from their livers omens for the next 

 year are read. During the morning the 

 pigs have been decorated with beads and 

 charms, charged with messages to the 

 gods, and urged to show, by the markings 

 on the under side of the liver, what the 

 future has in store. 



After the pigs are killed the livers are 

 extracted and the learned men proceed 

 with their interpretation of the omens. 



As there are always enough pigs so 

 that some of them are sure to have livers 

 that give good omens, the feast then be- 

 gins with great good cheer, the women 

 bringing out delicious new rice — brown 

 in color and nutty in flavor — cooked in 

 neat little individual packages made from 

 leaves ; also various excellent vegetables 

 from the jungle, such as the heart of 

 several of the palms as well as the tender 

 shoots of certain ferns, and, finally, 

 slightly roasted pig and partly boiled 

 chicken. 



The method of preparing the chicken 

 will indicate that participation in a Dayak 

 feast is something of an ordeal. The 

 larger feathers are pulled out, some of 

 the remainder burned off over a fire, and 

 nearly all that is left is chopped fine and 

 stewed. 



COCK-FIGHTING THE CHIEF PASTIME OF 

 THE AFTERNOON 



Cock-fighting is the chief event of the 

 afternoon, and on these occasions the 

 Dirds are armed with sharp knives, so 

 that the fights are usually soon over. The 

 cock-fighting is held outside the house, in 

 the shade of the trees, in which the small 

 boys who climb with hands and feet find 

 an excellent point to view the sport. 



Hugh Clifford, who has written most 

 fascinating stories about the Malays, re- 



marks that we must not too strongly con- 

 demn cock-fighting while fox-hunting 

 continues to be recognized as legitimate 

 sport. The game-cocks fight because they 

 enjoy it ; the fox participates from no de- 

 sire of his own, and must experience the 

 keenest agony of terror with a pack of 

 howling hounds at his heels. 



After the cock-fighting, rice wine be- 

 gins to flow more freely, and boisterous 

 merriment continues long into the night. 



In the years gone by, the evening's en- 

 tertainment might have ended with the 

 "head dance," with the result that some 

 young warriors would thereby be inspired 

 to set forth in quest of new heads to 

 decorate their homes. 



The head dance is now prohibited, but 

 it was demonstrated once for my benefit 

 at the house of a pleasant little chief 

 who wished to do me a special favor. 



THE HUNT FOR THE GREAT APE OF BORNEO 



I had been spending several days in 

 a vain endeavor to obtain photographs 

 of the great ape, the orang-utan — the 

 Malay name signifying the "Man of the 

 forest" — corrupted into "orang-outang." 

 Finally, my friend the chief assured me 

 that if the young fellows who were go- 

 ing about with me couldn't find the orang- 

 utan, he could. 



So, one morning, we all set out under 

 his guidance and ended an arduous and 

 fruitless day's tramp by getting lost late 

 in the afternoon in a rattan swamp — a 

 swamp so thick and choked with the 

 sharp tendrils of vines that progress 

 could only be made by cutting a path 

 through the thorns. 



Thanks to my compass, we found our 

 way out, but the little chief was doubly 

 chagrined. To make amends, he en- 

 treated me so earnestly to accept the hos- 

 pitality of his house that I could not re- 

 fuse, although his was not a clean house 

 and I was comfortably established in the 

 shop of a Chinaman. 



THE RITUAE OF THE "HEAD DANCE" 



After my evening meal, supplemented 

 with several delicious fruits, including 

 the durian, which has so bad an odor that 

 considerable courage is required when 

 one first tastes it, and after all other 



