120 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 





IN TH£ COCK-PIT: SARAWAK, BORNEO 



Cock-fighting is the principal diversion among the Sea Dayaks, and, like the Spanish bull- 

 fight, the contest is usually held early in the afternoon, 



men he would have counted eighty, or 

 fourscore — in French quatre-vingts, four 

 twenties. 



TH£ land dayaks 



The Land Dayaks, as their name indi- 

 cates, live inland, and they more fre- 

 quently build their houses at a distance 

 from the streams than is the habit with 

 other tribes. In addition to the Malays, 

 they are the natives of Sarawak proper — 

 that is, the territory first ruled by Sir 

 James Brooke — constituting the south- 

 erly division of the Raj of Sarawak. 



They are more affected by contact with 

 foreigners and are rather less enterpris- 

 ing and energetic than their neighbors, 

 the Sea Dayaks, who occupy the Batang 

 Lupar and Rejang rivers to the north. 

 A few Land Dayak villages in the vicinity 

 of the headwaters of the Sarawak and 

 Sadong rivers near the Dutch border re- 

 main, however, little affected by foreign 

 influence. 



In common with the other tribes of 

 Borneo, their houses are long communal 

 dwellings built on posts 8 or 9 feet from 

 the ground, a passageway on one side 

 giving access to the rooms, each of which 

 is occupied by one family. 



The Land Dayaks, unlike the otner 

 tribes, also build a square house on very 

 high posts, considerably above the level 

 of the "long house." It is called the 

 "head house" from the fact that in it are 

 kept the heads which they have taken 

 from their enemies (see picture, page 

 129). 



The head house is the general place of 

 meeting; it is there that the Resident on 

 his visits meets the people, and there, 

 also, that unmarried men and boys as 

 well as visitors sleep. It is an interesting 

 experience, when one for the first time 

 lies down to sleep with a great cluster 

 of blackened skulls grinning from the 

 rafters overhead, even when they are 

 very old skulls (see also page 131). 



